Protecting the Future
by Mechanical Zero
Summary: Natsu vs. Rogue alternate ending from chapter 325-326. Rogue tells Natsu what Future Lucy had been through before her last breath during their brawl. One-Shot


**A/N: WARNING! SPOILERS TO THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ CHAPTER 325-326! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL!**

~This is my alternate version of Chapter 325-326 ( Unity and Natsu vs. Rogue)~

"Lucy! Get away from here!" Natsu screamed. 'Did that just happen? Did Lucy just _die_? Just like that? Why couldn't I protect her?! No Lucy of mine deserves to die!' He thought.

"B-But" The present Lucy stuttered. She just saw herself die. No one should have to see themselves die in front of them! "Leave this to Natsu! You're the one being targeted… You must remove yourself at once!" Loke said sternly and grabbed her wrist. Followed with a stubborn "F-Fine!", she and Loke ran off. Leaving Natsu and Rogue.

"You aren't getting away!" Rogue yelled, and formed a pitch-black tornado beneath him as he began to fly after her. But before he could, Natsu delivered a powerful _PUNCH _under his jawline that sent him flying in the opposite direction. "Natsu Dragneel!" He hissed.

After taking another glance at the deceased Lucy, and then at the present version that was getting smaller by the second, the teen began to wipe away the tears he didn't know he was shedding. A dark shadow from beneath him sped up to him and glided from the ground to the walls. "I expected you'd stick your nose in my business. After all, I did just kill your wife." He let out a maniacal laugh from his shadow form. "The future you and her were happy before the dragons took over you know. What a shame too-!" Future Rogue rose from the ground and jumped in the air. "-You two had a powerful daughter! A cute little 5-year-old version of you! Such a disappointment that I had to kill her too!"

"Were you always such a prick?!"

"Time has a way of changing people. Think about it this way! I can save you the heartbreak of losing your daughter AND the girl you'll share her with! I'm protecting the future!" Rogue shouted and shot another attack at Natsu.

"Die, Natsu Dragneel."

Natsu blocked the attack with his arms and shielded himself, leaving a few dirt and blood marks. "You took something away from me right before my eyes," His rage slowly turned into flames that engulfed his body. "Your way of doing things. Is SHITTY!"

"LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON MODE!"

The attack took Rogue fourteen feet in the ground, but it wasn't enough to take him down. "So… This is the power you kept in your back pocket seven years ago?" He smirked, and before Natsu could deliver another punch, he was sent back from Rogue's counter attack.

"White Fire Shadow Dragon Mode…"

The charge hit Natsu with multiple beams of light. "Gyah!" He began to cough up blood as he tried to hold his ground.

"Both the light, fire, and shadow to bend at my very whim…" Rogue said darkly.

''WHITE FIRE SHADOW DRAGON'S COARSE SILK!''

Blinding white streaks came and invaded Natsu's body, sending him to the ground. "The… White… Shadow… Was…" he gasped, slowly falling to the ground.

"Yes, it was Sting's power. Until I killed him… But knowing who I'd face again coming back to the past, I needed a little more power! That's where your adorable little girl came in. Such great power wasted on a tiny infant. Why not take it for myself? You should've seen your face when you saw her blood on the ground. I loved that look! Her power gave me a surplus amount of power. But that won't happen for quite some time in this timeline."

"YOU HEARTLESS BITCH!"

"This heartless bitch is going to take your life away as well." A smug grin plastered his face.

"White Fire Dragon's-" He was stopped.

"Flash forward!"

Before any damage was done to him, the dark mage formed into a shadow and scattered.

Ultear came into the scene with Meredy after her attack and started looking for Natsu. The time mage found him laying on the ground in tattered clothes looking to his right and ran up to him and yelled, "Natsu! Pull yourself together! Meredy! We need to apply first aid immediately!"

"Yes!" and the independent mage responded, and pulled out her first aid box.

Ultear looked to where Natsu was staring and found a blond haired corpse laying between rubble. "No, it can't be!" She gasped. Natsu pulled himself form the ground and limped towards Lucy. "Natsu! You shouldn't be moving!" She shouted to him.

"I don't give a damn." He muttered under his breath, and kept limping. By the time he got to her body, his knees buckled and he landed on his shins. He swung his upper body over hers, and was unable to heart her heartbeat. He wrapped his cut arms around her limp figure.

"Shit… I'm sorry Lucy... I'm sorry I couldn't protect the daughter that the bastard said we had… I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to save you! To bring you back to the past with all this pain inside you! I-I love you! I'm so sorry! I'll fix this. I will! I'll make sure you never go down this path again!" He sobbed, with fresh tears descending down his scraped face, and onto her bloody cloak.

Ultear and Meredy slowly approached him. Ultear put a comforting hand his shoulder. "Natsu, we need to tend your wounds or else-"

"No. I have to go…" he whispered, and slowly hobbled up to his feet, with his bags covering his eyes.

"B-But-" Meredy interrupted.

"I made a promise…" His voice got louder with each words that came out of his mouth.

"I swore that…"

"I would protect the future!"

**A/N: So did you like it? Tell me if I should write another tragedy story! Am I any good at this? I don't know if I am or not so I'm asking for your opinion! I had a lot of fun writing this! Thanks for reading!**


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